Muslims caught in 'blatant show of disrespect' on Temple Mount

Cleaning supplies, buckets, workers scattered across Foundation Stone

The Muslims who operate the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a building housing the Foundation Stone, revered by Jews as possibly the site of the original Temple’s Holy of Holies and possibly the holiest site in Judaism, have been caught in a “blatant show of disrespect.”

He wrote: “Photos on the internet show Muslims doing light construction on the stone inside the Dome of the Rock in a manner that entirely disregards the sanctity of the site. No one knows anything about the incident, but the stone, known as the Even HaShtiya (Foundation Stone) is holy to Jews and this may be yet another case of Muslims causing damage to the Temple Mount.”

He cited the “Arabic Twitter-feed posted photos” of what was called “specialized cleaning.”

“The cleaning was purported to be in preparation for Ramadan, the month-long period of fasting for Muslims that will begin on May 15. Despite the claim of the Twitter feed that the site is the ‘1st Qiblah (direction Muslims face when they pray), 2nd Mosque on Earth & 3 Holiest Site in Islam,’ cleaning supplies and buckets are scattered around the large stone surface.

“Workers can be seen in the photo lounging directly on the rock in a manner that is inconsistent with the holy status the Twitter site claims the stone has for Muslims,” he explained.

He described it as a “blatant show of disrespect.”

“Currently, non-Muslims are forbidden from entering the Dome of the Rock so no details of this desecration have been reported by any non-Arabic media outlets.”

The rock is described as having a small hole on a corner that leads to a cavern beneath, known as the Well of Souls.

It’s believed to be either the Holy of Holies, the concealed area of the original Temple into which only the high priest would go, or the Outer Altar.

Berkowitz reported either would be of tremendous significance to Jews.

And he pointed out it’s not the only desecration to have been documented.

“Complaints were filed with the Israeli police concerning Muslim children playing soccer on the Temple Mount,” he noted, and there are wooden beams stored under a tarp. Possibly dating back to the First Temple period almost 3,000 years ago, they have been “left to rot in an area inaccessible to Jews or Israeli authorities.”